Experimental and theoretical studies on the chemistry of cisplatin (DDP) have been initiated with the goal of characterizing the reaction kinetics of the drug in vitro. This knowledge should lead to an idenfication of the principal reactive species and pathways, with attendant implications for the design of drug protocols. Refinement of the separation and detection techniques required for the investigation has been undertaken. An improved high-performance liquid chromatography and hanging mercury drop electrode technique has been used to follow the fate of DDP and its major hydrolysis products in various aqueous media. Peaks corresponding to the two metabolites have been identified by using off-line fraction collection with platinum determination by atomic absorption methods; kinetic analysis of these platimum-containing peaks has confirmed their identities. The results of kinetic studies are in remarkably good agreement with results of other researchers, but they leave many unanswered questions pertaining to the nature of the reaction mechanism.